Divya: Africa is seeing rapid economic growth. Looking at statistics and at the precedents set by China and India, Africa is currently a $2 trillion economy. By 2050 it will be a $29 trillion economy— bigger than Europe and America combined. It’s a bold talk, full of inspiring graphs all pointing up, up, up.

Shruthi: Why a job-seeker should choose Africa as his/her workplace?

Divya: Big C’s like PWC (Price Water Coopers), Delloite, KPMG, Earnst and Young etc., are very positive about Africa as a continent based on their analysis and case studies. Major gaiants like Tata, Airtel, Dabur. Godrej have either set up their branches in Africa or have planned to set up their operations in various countries of Africa.

One more reason for Africa to grow is their bounty natural resources and plenty of human resources which are English-Speaking. And major parts of Africa have become politically stable and hence are looking for next level growth. These regions are bound to grow. Major Time and again it has been proved that Indians are respected in Africa.

Shruthi: What value Ross Warner HR Solutions brings to companies?

Divya: Any consultant who has experience in the Job market of Africa is an add-on value. So that the consultant knows the working standards, pattern of the environment, and the culture of the country. Acquaintance primarily helps bridge the gap. It gives right information to the employer and employee helps retain the talent. Overall cycle of recruitment is complete.

DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Tanzania has held talks with France’s Total and Britain’s BP over oil and gas exploration, its energy ministry said on Saturday, aiming to add to major companies active in its thriving energy sector.

Companies already present in the east African state include Norway’s Statoil, Brazil’s Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell , BG Group and Exxon Mobil..

Total executives were in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam this week with Energy and Minerals Minister Sospeter Muhongo, the ministry said.

“Total has expressed interest to explore for gas and oil in the Lake Eyasi (open acreage area),” Muhongo said in a statement.

“We welcome competition and we would like many companies to participate in this sector,” he added.

Muhongo has also held separate talks with BP officials, though he did not give details about when those talks were held.

In May, China’s state-run offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd and Russian gas producer Gazprom also submitted bids for four of the eight oil and gas blocks Tanzania offered in its fourth offshore licensing round.

East Africa is a new hot spot for energy companies after substantial deposits of crude oil were found in Uganda and major natural gas reserves were discovered off the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique.

People are normally petrified when they hear the name of Africa. But the words from the mouth of expats are actually a very different one. Expats compare Delhi and Africa! Can you beat that? In fact expats are actually disappointed that many talented people are missing out golden opportunities being prejudiced about the place’s name.

Many African economies are booming. South Africa’s is not. Europe, its biggest export market, is mired in recession. Mining output fell in February and again in March. Consumer confidence is at a nine-year low. Massmart, part-owned by Walmart, this week became the latest big retailer to report disappointing sales figures. Unemployment is above 25%. If those who want work but are too discouraged to look for it are included, the rate is close to 37%.

In such circumstances, a cut in interest rates might ginger up the economy. But South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark rate at 5% on May 23rd, in part because of an alarming decline in the rand in recent weeks. The weaker currency will push up import costs and boost inflation which is already close to the top of the target range of 3%-6%. The rand’s slide is part of a general sell-off in emerging-market currencies against the dollar, but few have fallen as hard. And there are concerns that the foreign investment that South Africa needs to finance its large current-account deficit is being scared off by a fresh bout of industrial strife.

Wage demands seem destined to be unmet. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for pay rises of up to 60%, just as gold and platinum prices are falling. NUMSA, the metal-workers union, wants a 20% pay increase for all its members. Wildcat strikes recently hit Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana, where dozens of striking workers were killed by police last August. The threat of unrest goes beyond the mines. “If no agreement is reached, workers will have no choice but to go to the streets,” warned Mphumzi Maqungo, NUMSA’s national treasurer.

Such demands are not consistent with a 6% inflation cap nor with stable employment. Gill Marcus, the central-bank governor, warned that “the risk of a wage-price spiral remains high”. The wonder is that unions can ask for such pay deals when so many people are out of work. But the unemployed in South Africa cannot price themselves into work because of strict job-protection laws. The workforce is divided between privileged “insiders” and mostly young “outsiders”. As in the bits of Europe with hard-to-fire workers and high unemployment rates, those in work have many out-of-work dependents to support, so feel justified in their wage demands.

This year’s claims have been given an extra boost because unions are in a battle for relevancy. The NUM has been displaced in Marikana’s mines by AMCU, an upstart which now has the majority of Lonmin’s platinum workers in its ranks. The NUM is affiliated with COSATU, a union federation with close ties to the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Members who deserted felt its officials were too cosy with the powers-that-be, including employers. What better way to retain its rank-and-file support—and win lost members back—than an eye-watering pay bid?

But as the slide in the rand continued, the ANC leadership started to worry out loud. “If we do not resolve our labour-relations challenges, we will all be losers, we will see deteriorating confidence, job losses and business failures,” the finance minister, Pravin Gordhan, told parliament. It was a statement with which no one could disagree, but which also did not call on anybody to resolve the problem. Typically, President Jacob Zuma outdid him in his criticism of nobody in particular (and certainly not the unions): “We should demand better salaries and working conditions, but we may not wreck the economy.” With such vague guidance, industrial peace is unlikely to break out soon.

This blog was started in May 2012, one month before the United Nations Rio+20 ‘Earth Summit’ where the green economy was the main theme. The blog so far has had three specific objectives.

In the run-up to the Rio+20 Summit the initial objective was to raise awareness of Africa’s huge green growth potential and role in rebalancing the global economy. Eight posts were published before the Summit and were sent to as many African environment ministries as possible. One post was published in August 2012 appraising the summit and Africa’s position: Africa, Rio+20 and the Green Road Ahead.

The second objective was to examine the case of Ethiopia, following the death of prime minister Meles Zenawi on 21 August 2012. At the time of his death Mr Meles was recognised as ‘the voice of Africa’ at international summits and conferences and a leader in Africa’s green thinking. Four posts on Ethiopia were published between late August and early November 2012 exploring the paradoxical nature of his leadership with a focus on raising awareness of his green legacy and 21st century vision for Ethiopia and Africa.

The third and current objective is to raise awareness of the importance of the green economy in Africa’s growth story. 2013 started with unprecedented optimism for Africa’s growth prospects. Summits, conferences, articles, books, blogs, films and other media now proclaim that ‘Africa’s Moment’ has arrived. But very few even mention the green economy as an essential tool in the process to achieve sustainability and resilience. For this reason the current focus of this blog is a call to action to ‘put the green economy into Africa’s growth story’.

Part of this call to action is writing letters to the Financial Times. Not only does the FT have excellent coverage of Africa but it is also seen by many as the ‘world’s most influential newspaper’.

Comments Off on Did You Know Ethiopia could soon become a leader in hydropower and wind energy

Located in the horn of Africa Africa, Ethiopiais home to more than 91 million people, and less than 30 percent of the population has access to electricity. Under the Growth and Transformation Plan, the country’s government aims to boost energy potential through recent construction projects.

Thanks to an investment partnership between a French firm and the government, Ashegoda Wind Farm was opened at the end of October 2013. The 52 MegaWatt farm is estimated to cost slightly over 200 million euros.

Have you heard of the Grand Renaissance Dam?

Though the structure’s estimated year of completion is 2017, it hasn’t stopped the $4.7 billion project from making headlines. Announced in 2012, Grand Renaissance will be Africa’s largest. It will rest along the Nile River and run between Egypt and Ethiopia. If executed, this could be two milestones marked for the East African country’s development, but debate about the dam’s potential effect on the water supply of neighboring Egypt has halted construction.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.
After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela’s campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity.

On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.

During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela’s reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life’s work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation’s National Chairperson.His life struggle ended in December 2013,May his soul rest in Peace.